phobia

1 of 2

noun

pho·​bia ˈfō-bē-ə 

: an exaggerated usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation

-phobia

2 of 2

noun combining form

1

: exaggerated fear of

acrophobia

2

: intolerance or aversion for

photophobia

Examples of phobia in a Sentence

Noun

His fear of crowds eventually developed into a phobia.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Advertisement There were reported gender differences: For men, alcohol abuse had the highest prevalence, followed by major depressive disorder and specific phobias. —Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Oct. 2023

Snoop Dogg is opening up about his surprising animal phobia. —Nikki Dobrin, Peoplemag, 16 Sep. 2023

The museum has been renovated and expanded with money from Law and Justice, which during the election campaign transferred many of Dmowski’s phobias, particularly his claims of internal enemies conniving with Germany, onto Mr. Tusk. —Andrew Higgins, New York Times, 29 Oct. 2023

That's partly because proactive pain control can go a long way toward preventing medical phobias later on, says Dr. Taddio. —Rachel Rabkin Peachman, Parents, 21 Sep. 2023

On season three of The D'Amelio Show, Charli had mentioned your phobia of flying. —Danielle Bacher, Peoplemag, 17 Oct. 2023

To Sze, needle phobias are a public health issue, a perspective she’s been encouraging clinicians to embrace since the start of the pandemic. —Haley Weiss, TIME, 12 Oct. 2023

The mazes are centered on common phobias, so expect to walk through total darkness, meet with terrifying clowns and mingle with ghosts inside a haunted house. —Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Oct. 2023

Pretty much everyone knows what a phobia is: an extreme and unreasoning fear or aversion to something. —Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 3 Oct. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun

-phobia

Noun combining form

New Latin, from Late Latin, from Greek, from -phobos fearing, from phobos fear, flight, from phebesthai to flee; akin to Lithuanian bėgti to flee, Old Church Slavonic běžati

First Known Use

Noun

1786, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

phobia

noun

pho·​bia ˈfō-bē-ə 

: an unreasonable, abnormal, and lasting fear of something

Medical Definition

phobia

noun

pho·​bia ˈfō-bē-ə 

: an exaggerated and often disabling fear usually inexplicable to the subject and having sometimes a logical but usually an illogical or symbolic object, class of objects, or situation compare compulsion, obsession